Review of Unwind

Unwind, written by Neal Shusterman, is my all-time favorite book ever.  Connor, Risa, and Lev are the protagonists in this futuristic story.   Connor was sent to be "unwound" because his parents believed that their son had gotten into too many fights.  Risa, a ward of the state, was sent due to budget cuts.   Lev, son of a religious family, was sent because he was their 10th child.  His family believed in tithing, donating ten percent of everything, including their children.  All three teenagers were scheduled to be "unwound".  This is where a person's body is taken apart and saved for another time.  For example, if a child breaks an arm, doctors can just take a harvested arm with the best fit, and put that one on the child's body.  This is a story of Connor, Risa, and Lev's journey to a harvest camp  and their attempts to escape.

What I enjoyed most about this story was the eeriness.  The whole idea of parents giving up on their children and having them unwound seems so interesting to me.  Mr. Shusterman describes each event very well and as I turned each page, I was excited to see what surprises would arrive next.  I would recommend this book to anyone!  Everything about the book was captivating!

Review of Boot Camp

Boot Camp, by Todd Strasser, was a great book. It is about a boy named Garrett Durrell who gets sent to a boot camp in upstate New York called Lake Harmony. His parents are paying the camp a large sum of money to "whip" their son into shape. Recently, Garrett had been mischievous, coming home late, smoking, and dating one of his past math teachers. His parents believed that Lake Harmony would fix this. However, Garrett immediately comes to the conclusion that Lake Harmony is not fit for him. He recognizes that the boot camp is a terrible place where those in command use physical and psychological abuse on the campers. Garrett resists against the staff, which makes them much angrier towards him. At one part in the book, the protagonist decides to "play his cards right" and begins to cooperate. He makes friends with Pauly and Sarah, two campers who have spent many years at Lake Harmony, and have refused to reform. Together, they create a plan to escape.

The creativity that it took for Mr. Strasser to write his book is impressive. His ideas were well thought out. For example, the staff may only abuse the campers in a way where no marks or bruises are left behind. This was smart and made the story even more believable. What awed me most was that there actually are camps similar to Lake Harmony in the world. The unnoticed torture surprised me.

Review of The Book of Lost Things

John Connolly’s, The Book of Lost Things, is a story that I will never forget. David lives in England with his father during World War II. However, the majority of the protagonist’s adventures take place in a mythical universe. The land seems to be a parallel world where coyotes can talk, monsters lurk in the forest, and much more. David uses the help of many people as he travels through this land in hope of finding the king. He is told by many companions that this is his only way of getting back to England. Fairy tales are incorporated into the story, which I felt made the novel much more interesting. At one point, David encounters Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Unlike the original story, Snow White is obese, greedy, and moody. The dwarves hate her, and have plotted many attempts to kill her. This section was interesting, because it put a completely different spin on the original story. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy and adventure.

Review of The Outsiders

The Outsiders, written by S.E. Hinton, was a phenomenal story about two rival inner city gangs. The protagonist, Ponyboy, is a part of The Greasers. They are called this because of the large amounts of grease that they put in their hair. The gang’s rival, The Socs, are a group of rich teenagers from a different part of town. The Socs are a much bigger and stronger bunch. The Greasers know never to walk the streets alone, in fear of getting mugged by their rivals. However, when a Greaser is forced to make a move to protect his friend, the gangs may never be the same.

The reality of this story is what surprised me the most. While reading, I could picture each event occurring in a dangerous part of my town. I also enjoyed how the author depicted the action scenes. She used a great amount of detail. The vocabulary throughout the whole book definitely portrayed each moment in the best way possible.

Comparing and Contrasting The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns

The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, both written by Khaled Hosseini, were truly remarkable stories. Although the books were written by the same author, they are different in many ways. One similarity between the novels is that they both take place in the same general area. Kite Runner takes place in a district of Afghanistan called Kabul. A Thousand Splendid Suns also takes place in Afghanistan. The vocabulary used is very similar. The books are written in English, but certain words are in a different language, which definitely adds to the drama and culture of the story.  Kite Runner narrates the events of a young boy growing up in a difficult neighborhood. Amir gets bullied as a child, has a tough relationship with his father, and changes the life of many. Meanwhile, A Thousand Splendid Suns shows the hardships for women in the Middle East. Women are often sold and abused, and there’s nothing they can do about it.

Review of The Power of Half

The Power of Half is an inspirational story about the Salwen family. Hannah, the oldest child, decided that it was time to stop taking and start giving back.  They do this by using “The Power of Half”.  The Salwens believed that by just sacrificing half of what they owned, they could make a difference in the lives of people more in need.  The boldest way they do this is by selling their mansion in Atlanta to buy a house half as big for half the price.  The money would be donated to a worthy charity.  Written by Kevin Salwen, the father of the family, and Hannah, his daughter, the story is truly heart-warming.  The majority of the book was told by Mr. Salwen, who narrates the feelings, twists, and turns of their adventure as a family.  He discusses everything, from why they decided to agree with Hannah’s far-fetched plan, to what he makes of the situation as a whole.  What I most appreciated from his writing was the variety of emotions portrayed by not only him, but the rest of his family.  Hannah chimes in at certain sections, with suggestions about how the reader can personally do something to make the world a better place.  After finishing the book I felt inspired to make a difference in someone else’s life.

The New York Mets

The New York Mets are a  wonderful team.

Blue and orange is their color scheme.

They all try hard during every game.

By the end of the season, fatigue is to blame.

The Mets, the Mets, they play for New York.

In 1986, champagne was uncorked.

Although the Mets have been losing recently,

When they go down, it’s never easily.